The Battle of Long Tan Speech DraftGreetings! The Vietnam War was a vicious conflict primarily between the United States and Australia against the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. The public initially supported the war, but then-U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson exaggerated how easy and global the war was to attract additional support. When he called for "more flags" to be shown in South Vietnam, only the Philippines, the Republic of South Korea, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand indicated a willingness to contribute under a form or another of military aid. In doing so, “it allowed Johnson to present the developing war as international, to show that it needed to be confronted and supported” (Hastings, 2003). The outcome of the Vietnam War was assured because the governments of the United States and Australia were unable to maintain support from their populations due to the popular culture of the time. Indeed, much of the war was broadcast on television or other popular culture, so events like the Battle of Long Tan could be seen by families and people of all ages in their living rooms; it was the first time they saw how serious a war could be. The Battle of Long Tan took place on August 18, 1966 on a rubber plantation in Phuoc Tuy Province, South Vietnam. The soldiers fought under very difficult conditions; “The battle was unlike any other in the way it unfolded, admits the trees and bushes of a rubber plantation” (Parks, 2005). The plantation, already dark, was made even darker by tropical downpours. Men were killed by rifle and machine gun bullets, mortars and shrapnel from grenades fired into trees to project shrapnel onto the sheltering soldiers. The Australians were almost surrounded, isolated and short of...... middle of paper ......_war.pdf anzacday.org.au. (2000). Being a Historian: Investigating the Battle of Long Tan. Retrieved May 29, 2014 from anzacday.org.au: http://www.anzacday.org.au/education/activities/longtan/longtan01.html australia.gov.au. (January 8, 2009). The Battle of Long Tan and the Vietnam War. Retrieved May 5, 2014 from australia.gov.au: http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/battle-of-long-tanCreations, C. (nd). Long Tan and Propaganda. Retrieved May 28, 2014 from Convict Creations: http://www.convictcreations.com/history/longtan.htm Gibson, KB (2008). The Vietnam War. Mitchell Lane Publishers. Hastings, M. (2003). Vietnam The decisive battles. New Burlington Books. Parks, G. (2005). The significance of the Battle of Long Tan. Retrieved May 28, 2014 from City of Parramatta RSL Sub-Branch: http://www.parramattarsl.com.au/rsl9/BLTI.htm